Rookie Travel Tips Friday and The Starwood Preferred Guest Program Continued

August 26, 2011 - Shannon

Last week’s winning tip goes to Besty! Next week we will announce our August winner of the $100 gift card. Submit your tips under the comments section for a chance to win!

“When you know that you are going to cancel a card right before the annual fee is due, call a couple months ahead instead. I just called on my two Citi AA cards and they gave me an $85 statement credit and 500 bonus points/month on both just to keep the card. I can still cancel in a couple of months when the fee is due. I will do this with all the cards I plan on cancelling from now on.”
- Betsy

Starwood Preferred Guest Continued: It’s a good program and I’m on a roll, so why not?

Some frequently asked questions about SPG and the answers below.

“The Nights and Flights sounds like a great deal! Am I correct that how you use the 50,000 miles after the transfer is up to you? The Nights and Flights promotion only requires that you make the transfer to get the hotel stay?” - Mike

I called SPG and spoke with a representative who told me that when you redeem your Starpoints for the Nights and Flights option, you must book your hotel right then with the SPG representative. But as far as using the airline miles, that part is up to you. They make the points transfer and book your hotel. You do what you want with the airline miles later.

“If I stay two nights, booked with my SPG card at participating Sheraton hotels, I’ll get a third night free. Is this two paid nights, or two nights booked with points? “-Rharrigill

To take advantage of the Sheraton Third Night Free deal, you must pay cash for the first two nights. When speaking with a representative, I asked if this deal was still going on as it is not advertised on the website any longer. She said it was still going on at various Sheraton hotels. She suggested I call SPG reservations so they could check the specific locations for participation in the deal.

“How long do SPG points last before they expire because of inactivity?”- Anonymous reader

SPG Points expire after 12 months of “no activity” on the account. The key is to use your card at least once within that time frame to keep your points active. Also, loading your SPG account into a points tracking program like AwardWallet is very useful for keeping up with your expiration dates, current account activity and balances.

“My wife and I both have accounts and we will eventually make her the primary account. Can I transfer my points to her? – Anonymous reader

If you share an address, members of the same household may transfer miles between accounts. There is a transfer form you must fill out. Go to SPG.com. Under the “Quick Links” tab, choose the “Redeem Points” option. All the way at the bottom is the “Transfer to another member“ option. It will prompt you to log into your account and take you to the transfer points form.

“Does the 5th night free apply to the Cash and Points option as well?” – Anonymous Reader

Starwood does not allow overlapping of promotions. So the answer is no, we cannot double dip on this one. I was also wondering if I could apply a AAA member hotel discount with the Sheraton “stay two get a third night free” deal. When I asked SPG they said no. I am curious though: If I showed up at check in and presented my AAA card, could I get the 10% discount applied or the free breakfast they offer applied then?

SPG Program Posts

SPG Overview and Nights & Flights

CASH & POINTS
Fifth Night Free Option

– The Rookie, Shannon

Limited Time Offer American Express Gold Business Rewards Card 50,000 Membership Rewards Points! NO First Year Fee

Carl

Good post on credit risk. I am finding some of your peers are getting out of control on this. I appreciate your candid advice in keeping us in control of our credit worthiness.

Mommy Points is ok, not a big fan of her credit card posts, as I find they could use some more QC, and overall I am just not a sucker for using children as props.

I find Flying Pinto a much better resource for traveling with children and I don't even have any, but it gives me a good crew/parent perspective that sometimes serves me well.
Erica

Rick, thanks for the new blog suggestion. I'm very new to reading these blogs about earning miles, and every little bit of information helps! I'm still in a bit of the overwhelmed stage. Next week I'm taking a trip on US Airways, and staying at Best Western, one of their hotel partners. I signed up for US Airways Dividend miles program. How do I go about getting the most out of my trip in terms of miles? Do I need to show my hotel my US Airways card upon check in, and then they post it? Thanks so much for answering my newbie questions! >.<
Charles Clarke

Good reminder to folks that people have different goals and abilities. Should be linked into a "New to this blog – READ FIRST" page.
Bradley "Carberrie"

I completely agree with your concern regarding minimum spends. I really want the business AmEx card with 50k Rewards points, but I know there is no way I can meet the minimum spend in time… I'll just have to wait for another offer with a lower minimum spend, and at a time when I'm not already working to meet other minimum spends.
Deals We Like

Mommy Points definitely has a different type of blog, which is fun and humorous to read! I also agree with you on protecting your credit – coming from a finance background it is one of your most important assets. However, as long as you are smart about it you can get many miles while still keeping your credit high.
Anonymous

You have been and will remain my no. 1 blog for this hobby, even while I check about a half-dozen every day, mainly because you are the LONE blog out there that tries to emphasize in nearly every post the significance of playing around with a person's credit, and that it is our most important asset. There are other peer blogs of yours out there where I have never seem them caution readers once about thinking long-term about smart credit.
Bacc

Timely post, Rick. Especially the lifetime and crack references. I'm a pretty sensible person with almost 1.8 million miles for 2, but I experience withdrawal symptoms after a churn when a new offer pops up.

The discipline of waiting for 90 days is an excellent guardian on the addiction. The minimum spends without the mint have changed my selection process.

For the youngsters with non traveling parents a suggestion–add them as authorized users and let them charge their expenses and make the payments. They probably have much higher spends than you. It can be their "no cost" gifts to you.
Anonymous

I too always appreciate your common-sense for those of us along for the ride (and having a darn good time), but are not necessarily elites or frequent fliers. I relish the one or two trips I take with my family each year, and you've helped me get there.

Spreading inquiries among the bureaus is a problem for some of us, though. I have had nothing but Barclay's hit anything except Experian, so at even 2 cards/6 mos., I'm heavy on inquiries.
gpapadop

Great post Rick! I agree with you on all your points.

As a reference on the AMEX "difficulties" in attaching promo codes to accounts: Shot down on 1 SM, shot down on 1 phone call….and then success on third try w/ nice chatty rep…so all is good:-)
Anonymous

I admire your attitude towards another fellow blogger, Mommy Points. Your right, it isn't a competition. Most times each of the top bloggers has a different topic. One thing to watch out for is a trend toward duplicating each others posts.

Mommy Points has become one of the first blogs I check each day. There is something about the style that makes it an enjoyable read.
Anonymous

This seems like an elementary question, but if I'm trying to meet a minimum spend can't I buy a gift card at my favorite retailer (I.e. Walmart / target) and have that count toward my spending or do gift cards not count?
David

I must apologize for my snarky comments a couple days ago when you posted that AMEX is (mostly) cracking down on bump the bonus codes.

I do realize this is not a competition, and sometimes tone of voice, and history cannot be portrayed very well in a comment typed on a keyboard.

I very much appreciate your blog and your sound credit card advice. Just your history in general is impressive!
I, more or less, just felt the need to argue that there was a better option – in the hopes that people would get (what I feel) is the better option. In reality though, we are all in different boats, as you mentioned.

For a younger, single guy like me – I'd rather risk the bump the bonus attempt with a lower spend than the guaranteed smaller miles with 5x spend. But that's just me.

It's a lifer game, so let's sit back, swim in some miles, and take some trips!
I just booked 2 tickets to Bogota for my friend and I. Whitewater rafting, caving, waterfalls, & jungles abound!
Mommy Points

Thanks so much, Rick, for posting about Mommy Points. I'm so glad you like the site! I couldn't agree more with Anon that blogging is not a competitive sport. I get so much out of Rick's site, and check it every day myself. Everyone (including readers, message board posters, etc…) brings something a little different to the travel/points blogging world, and we all work for the common goal of helping people travel more, farther, and for less than they otherwise could.

I love that there is some diversity in the blog world. Not every site is for every person, so it is great to have choices! For those who like Mommy Points, thanks so much, keep coming back to read about what's going on in the child traveling/points world. I also love to hear about the deals and travel tips that other families have, so don't be shy about commenting and sharing!

Thanks again, Rick.

Mommy Points
Chappy

Couple of questions in regards to your list of CC assessment:

For your first point, how can we find the re-sign up time (waiting for 6, 12, 18 months between new apps)?

And the 6th: How can we find what reporting agencies go for which card? I remember seeing a link to a site but it wasn't very comprehensive.

Thanks as always
Charles Clarke

@Chappy – For reporting agencies, Look for CreditPulls Database on http://creditboards.com/forums/

For the re-sign up time, are you talking about the time between getting bonuses or the time between batch application days? The first is issuer dependent(and changes over time) and takes digging. The second may be answered by http://www.visaicsdirect.com/faq.html#jump3 6 or more applications within 90 days is a good indicator of bankrupcty or charge-offs. So, do them in clusters so they don't see the other same day inquiries and wait 90 days so they don't see the last batch.

BTW Rick or Howie, sometimes I have to click "Post Comment" 2 or 3 times (waiting for it to show the new page in between) before it says it took my comment. Are you getting duplicates when I do that or do I really need to click it that many times?
FrugalTravelGuy

charles thanks for the heads up on the double and triple "post new comment issue". I rarely see them double post so it just seems to be a blogger bug. Your comments are always appreciated

rick
Mary

Rick – thanks for the new blog suggestion. I think it's hard to find blogs that focus on travel for families. I started one of my own so I could share things I've learned from your blog and others, tips on how to travel with a family, and example trip suggestions.
Chappy

@Charles Clark – Thanks for the forum link. I had that but didn't search hard enough; the open search option seems weak. Not very many results. Do I just have to find answers to each card on seperate threads? (i.e.- Who pulls credit scores on the Cap One Venture card if I applied from TN).

Second part makes sense–digging
Charles Clarke

@Chappy – Not sure by what you are saying about open search or the seperate threads. If you search for "Capital"("Cap One" only comes up with one) in the Creditor Name and Tennessee, it comes up with several results which basically show they pull all three.

Searching for one specific creditor in your state is good when they have a great (or good and you want lots of applications) offer and you want to balance your applications. After you have the really good ones, search for your state and the CRA that you are short in. e.g. Transunion in Tennessee. Then find the good offers among those creditors.

Looking at all the recent pulls for your state is also useful. See what people are applying for. Maybe they have good offers.

And yes, digging is usually part of this. Businesses change their rules all the time. And sometimes their employees don't follow the rules or there are ways to convince the business they should give you an exception.

@Rick – up to 3 tries on this current comment post…

Rookie Travel Tips Friday and The Starwood Preferred Guest Program Continued

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